On Feb. 25, the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution sponsored a talk in Brattleboro by Dr. Wilfred Eisenberg, a German pediatrician who has treated children and families who were victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. He lectures widely on the effects of nuclear energy on children.
Dr. Eisenberg started by describing a normal morning in their German household when he went out to their garden to pick herbs to garnish their bread and butter. Later that day he learned that it had not been safe to eat the herbs because the rainfall from the night before had been contaminated by the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. He described how, as a result of the fallout, local farmers were unable to sell their crops and milk and how months later, when local milk was for sale again, it was labeled according to the amount of radiation it contained.
He spoke about how the poisoning from the radiation had been widespread throughout Europe due to the shifting winds over the course of several days. And how areas which had not been previously contaminated are “hot spots” of radiation now. It is thought that in the years following the accident in Chernobyl, fires ignited in the contaminated forests and the winds then spread the ashes to other areas.
He spoke of how children and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to the effects of nuclear energy and of studies that correlate high rates of cancer in children living in proximity to nuclear plants. He also described how the genetic mutations can travel through generations of families.
In Germany it is now law that nuclear plants will be shut down after 32 years of operation and that by 2020 nuclear power will no longer exist there.
We in New Hampshire sit across the river from the deteriorating and accident-prone Vermont Yankee nuclear plant that has been leaking radioactive water since the end of December. This year the Vermont legislature is slated to vote on whether this plant, which could not be licensed today, should be relicensed for another 20 years of operation.
The risk factors associated with the continued operation of Vermont Yankee far outweigh any benefits. In the interest of protecting the environment, protecting the public, and protecting the future economy of New England, Vermont Yankee should be shut down now. In these times when corporate responsibility is being highlighted, corporate profits should not trump the long-term health and well-being of the public and the environment.